Never before has such arrogance been in such plain view as it was on Monday. Here was the National Basketball Players Association announcing that a 50-50 split of basketball revenues wasn't good enough, and that it wouldn't be bullied into accepting a substandard deal.
And here was commissioner David Stern shaking his head and calling a move to disband the union an irresponsible move.
"It's a negotiating tactic," Stern said. "That's all it is."
We figured the sides could work this out without attorneys. We figured the NBA season would happen. We figured that they'd remember not to squash the pie in the greedy fight over how to divide it.
Selfish us.
This NBA season is headed to the courtroom. Maybe the players gain leverage. Maybe they don't. But ultimately the arrogance of both sides ends up the biggest offense.
It struck me a couple of weeks ago when LaMarcus Aldridge hosted his charity basketball event that something was missing. The athletes were there. The game had officials. They used a leather basketball. There were two baskets, with new nets. But the NBA stage was missing, and so the thing felt flat to me.
Cool event. I'd go as often as I'd see, say, the Cirque du Soleil. But it wasn't anything close to a genuine NBA game.
Strikes me today, as people talk about the possibility of decertification, and maybe, an opportunity for the owners to seek replacement players and put the games on anyway that it doesn't feel complete, either.
Stern wouldn't go there, saying, it's premature to talk replacement players. But he just shook his head, and sounded a lot like a kid who just watched his helium-filled balloon float into the clouds.
Right about now, I'm thinking both sides overplayed their hands.
The players aren't the same without the stage. The stage isn't the same without the players. Basically, they're sports lichen. One can't exist without the other. And sports markets across the country barely flinched at the news.
We've adjusted, already.
People are angry, sure. But Oregon plays USC on Saturday. And there's a logjam at the top of the Bowl Championship Series standings. And I'm not sure if the NBA realizes it, but last season's television ratings notwithstanding, the league's popularity already has waned.
Yes, even in markets such as Portland.
The players and owners are busy whining about an unfair deal. But what about fans who are overpaying for tickets, parking, and concessions? The cost of taking a family to the game has soared to the point where even those who have been long term season-ticket holders don't really see the value, beyond games being a social event.
A Trail Blazers 20-plus year season ticket holder wrote an open letter to both sides weeks ago to announce, "go get a job at a soup kitchen." And while Stern is promising that a deal will be done, losing the 2011-2012 season makes me wonder what will be waiting for basketball when it comes back.
Fans are fed up. People across the country are assembled in parks, and other public venues, protesting the breakdown of the American economy and the loss of the middle class. It's why this labor negotiation has felt particularly out of touch.
The owners are more out of touch with fans than ever. Players, too. Basically, the game is tone deaf to what's going on around it, and I'm not sure fans are going to forgive the NBA in the way they forgave past work stoppages in the NFL and Major League Baseball.
The NHL has not regained the visibility it had before canceling a season – and that happened when the economy was stronger.
The timing for the NBA couldn't be worse.
It's why a day like Monday feels so absurd. The league and the players will continue to bicker. Lawyers will get rich. Maybe the game comes back one day, and games go on. All that just feels less likely again.
